Signed, illustrated copies of The Queen's Counsel Lawyer's Omnibus at Wildys and Hammicks

Wildy’s must surely one of London’s prettiest and most attractive bookshops. Tucked into a corner of the south gateway into Lincoln’s Inn, it is the kind of bookshop you might not even notice if you didn’t know it was there.

Inside its wood paneled shelves you can almost imagine Mr Snagsby or Mr Vholes searching out the latest edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. Even the staff seem to speak in whispers, out of deference to its studious atmosphere.

Last week I dropped into Wildy's – and also Hammicks, its southern rival at the bottom of Chancery Lane – to sign books. These two elegant veterans  represent the last of a dying breed – specialist bookshops catering to the legal profession, still gallantly holding out against the Amazonian might of the dotcoms.

What can old-school bookshops still do that their interweb rivals cannot? Well, they can sell signed, personalised books, for a start. All of the copies of The Queen's Counsel Lawyer's Omnibus in Wildy's and Hammicks have now been signed and personalised with a little illustration in the inside cover – surely the perfect gift for the legal eagle in your life this Christmas.

I like bookshops. I love the feel of browsing the shelves – and the unexpected jewels that turn up when you least expect them. Long may Wildy's and Hammicks hold out against the incoming tide.